Daytona and Other Thoughts

By Jason Jarrett

I don’t really have one thought about Daytona so I am going to be all over the place with this one.

Daytona in July certainly brings back some great memories for me. When I was younger I used to make it to Daytona for the July race every year: this was my summer vacation with my dad. This was before I did any racing myself so it was all fun for me. I used to take a friend with me to Daytona so we just went to have a good time. We spent our time at the beach, pool, and mall. Very little of our week was spent at the track. This is when the race was run on Saturday morning so we would end up being back on the beach after the race. Those are some good memories that I will hold on to for a long time.

This trip to Daytona was a reminder of how much I enjoy Florida. I know, everyone is thinking I am crazy, but I really do enjoy Florida. I hardly ever wake up and say, "I am going running this morning," but I did in Daytona. It gets hot and all of that but there are few states that I travel to that I would actually move to. There is something about Florida that gives me a little extra energy. I may be dreaming, but I plan on moving there someday: Maybe not Daytona, but somewhere in Florida. Every time I mention this to people they always talk about the heat and the hurricanes but there will be things you have to deal with no matter where you live.

I guess I will talk about the race for a little bit.

From a spotter’s point of view, I was glad to get back to an oval track. Plus, I have done some spotting at Daytona before, so I am sure I did a better job there than at the road course. I like Saturday night racing no matter if it is Hickory Motor Speedway or Daytona International. There was one moment that got my attention and everyone’s attention that was on the radio with us. We use two radios, one is to scan NASCAR and the other is to communicate with the driver and team. The battery in my scanning radio goes dead and a caution comes out. Well, I should have caught this earlier and I should have seen the caution lights that come on around the track but I just made a mistake and called the caution late. Luckily, dad has so much experience; he caught the caution lights and slowed. There was not a major problem on the track and I learned to change batteries fairly quick. Every week I seem to learn some new things and have new experiences to deal with.

I am not sure exactly what happened when Bobby Labonte was caught up in his accident but I know he was running really well. If there was someone that I would want to win, other than dad, I would have to put Bobby on the top of that list. He just seems like a class act even with the misfortune that seems to happen to him. There will be more wins in Bobby’s future and that would be pretty cool to see the 43 in victory lane.

Maybe this is the week that I am thinking about anyone named Bobby. I read that Bobby Hamilton is going to visit Kentucky Speedway this weekend. It was good to see his name back in the news. Bobby Hamilton is a tough guy but I know that what he and his family are dealing with right now is extremely difficult. I would bet that getting back to the track is going to be a great feeling for Hamilton. He really impressed me a year or so ago when I tested a truck with him at Talladega Superspeedway. His guys seemed to really respect him and everyone made me feel welcome during that trip. I have only seen Bobby a couple of times since then but he took the time to speak to me and ask me what I was up to. He gave me a chance to run a test and I am thankful for that. I just want to take this chance to wish him the best in his recuperation.

Well, my mind has done it to me again, as everyone else has silly season on their minds; my mind runs off in a totally different direction. I guess someone has to have thoughts like mine. Enjoy Chicagoland! Maybe I will have some more "off the wall" thoughts for you next week.

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